JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 4, 2013) – The league-leading ETSU women’s tennis team begins a stretch of three matches in three days on Friday, facing off against Atlantic Sun rivals Lipscomb and Northern Kentucky at home before battling No. 18 Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday.

ETSU (9-4, 4-0 A-Sun) and Lipscomb (7-10, 2-3 A-Sun) begin play Friday at 2 p.m., before the Lady Bucs take on Northern Kentucky (0-12, 0-5 A-Sun) Saturday at noon. Both A-Sun matches will take place from the newly built ETSU Tennis Complex.

Saturday against the Norse, the Lady Bucs will celebrate Senior Day for Antonia Kolovou (Larisa, Greece). On the 2012-13 campaign, Kolovou has put up an impressive 19-9 singles record, including an 11-1 mark in dual play. In doubles, the first-year Lady Buc has teamed with another newcomer in Larn McShane (Hobart Tasmania, Australia) for a 12-5 overall, 6-3 dual, record. Wednesday, Kolovou was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week for the first time.

Other impressive performances on the year include freshman Lyn Yee Choo (Kuching, Malaysia), who enters the weekend with team-bests in overall wins (25-7) and dual victories (12-1). Choo has won her last 10 singles matches and holds an undefeated 4-0 mark in A-Sun play. In doubles, she teams with Anna Gerbasi (Caracas, Venezuela) and holds a 20-8 overall, 10-2 dual, 4-0, A-Sun, mark. The duo has won its last eight matches.

The list goes on for the new-look 2012-13 Lady Bucs as Gerbasi stands 17-8 overall, 8-3 dual, in singles, junior Sofia Espana (Mexico City) is 13-5, 4-4, and junior Salma Dahbi (Marrakech, Morocco) is 13-6, 5-3. Another force has been a returnee in junior Giulia Andreazza (Balneario Camboriu, Brazil), who is 6-1 at the No. 2 singles spot and carries a four-match winning streak.

ETSU hopes to take advantage against some of the A-Sun’s lower-tier teams. Lipscomb has won two of its last three league matches, but against the likes of a winless NKU squad and a one-win Mercer bunch. The Lady Bisons sit in a tie for the sixth and final qualifying spot for the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Meanwhile, as mentioned, NKU is winless on the A-Sun season, as well as the entire 2013 spring season. The Norse have been shutout in all but one match, taking a point in mid-February against Western Kentucky.

Sunday’s non-conference action against the 18th-ranked Cavaliers is a completely different story. Virginia has won seven of its last eight matches with its lone loss coming to No. 6 Duke, 4-3. Two Cavaliers are in the ITA’s singles rankings, led by No. 15 Julia Elbaba who is 26-8 overall, 10-6 dual, and a perfect 5-0 in ACC play. Stephanie Nauta enters the weekend at No. 65 and is 23-7 overall, 10-3 dual, with a 4-2 posting at No. 1 and 5-1 mark at No. 2 matches. In doubles, Erin Vierra and Maci Epstein rank No. 12 in the country with a 16-5 record, 4-1 dual, while Li Xi and Nauta are No. 24 with a 15-11 overall record.

It’s safe to say the Lady Bucs are in for a challenge on Sunday, but they’ve had a few breakthroughs against the nation’s best which include Choo and Gerbasi defeating the 14th-ranked doubles team from Oklahoma State in November.

Live stats will be available for Sunday’s match against UVA courtesy of VirginiaSports.com.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more through their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on ETSU women’s tennis, please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis links.